Hair of the Dog
by The Firefaery
Summary: Got a hangover? Out of aspirin? Try the hair of the dog that bit ya. At least, that's what Duo does. But when Heero sits down for a drink with him, he gets more than a few shots of tequila...


Hair of the Dog

By: The Firefaery

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or related materials, and make no profit from my fanfics.

This fic has been edited to comply with the rating system of this website. To read an uncut version, contact me.

TTTTT

My eyes were frying in my head. That's the only way to explain how I'm feeling right now. Oh fuck, it hurts.

"God, Heero, close the blinds," I whimpered, reaching blindly for a pillow to put over my poor eyes. "The light, the light, it burns!" 1 I choked out, snickering at my own expense. Of course, that just made it worse.

A pillow smacking me in the face put a stop to my pained noises, and I grunted out a thanks to my roommate. Him being the famous one-grunt-boy' I'm sure he understood.

God, hangovers are such a bitch.

I debated over getting up to take a piss, thereby moving my head and adding more pain, or staying here and wetting the bed. The funny thing about it is, I actually thought about the pros and cons of washing the sheets.

Okay, okay, not really, but I almost did. After a deep breath, I threw the covers back and stumbled out of bed. Of course, I tripped over something on the floor and careened around the room with my eyes closed. I finally landed, hard, on something soft. Make that someone soft. Well, sort of soft, in the I'm-made-of-flesh-and-blood-but-have-no-emotions' way.

Dark blue eyes glared up at me from the matching bed across the room from mine.

"Eh heh - Morning, Heero," I chirped brightly, wiggling the fingers of my free hand and wincing at my own voice.

I say free hand, because the other one, the left one to be precise, was trapped between Heero's body and mine. Damn, why does he always have to sleep with his shirt off? Not to mention the fact that I'm only in boxers myself. My fingers were splayed across his bare chest and if it weren't for the "Yuy Glare o' Death" he was shootin' my way, this could have been an interesting opportunity. Well, the glare, and my bitch of a hangover.

"Baka," he growled, shoving me off onto the floor. Ouch!' "If you kept your side picked up, you wouldn't trip over things," he added, turning over and going back to sleep.

Surprise, surprise - the Perfect Soldier needs his beauty rest, too. More proof he's really human, I guess.

"That wasn't very nice, Heero," I muttered weakly, hauling my ass up off the floor and towards the little pilots' room down the hall. Hearing a noise from Heero's direction, I turned around to look and promptly got another face full of pillow. "Bastard!" I bit out, then, holding my head, stomped out of the room.

Maybe stomped is too strong a word. More like, padded quietly and gently, but still angrily, out. Yeah, that's it.

I mean, do you want a pissed off Heero Yuy flying at you after you've woken him up, not once, not even twice, but three times? Does anyone?

No, I didn't think so.

There are other ways I'd like to have Heero comin' for me, but I don't feel like going into that right now. I really just feel like takin' a piss and a few dozen aspirin.

I managed to get out of the room and down the hall of our dorm to the communal bathroom, and take care of one goal. After washing up, I headed back to the room with the hope of pain pills held like a beacon before me.

"Aspirin - sweet, wonderful, god-sent aspirin - " I whispered like a mantra down the hallway.

Let's pause for a moment.

You're wondering why I'm hungover and feeling like something the cat dragged out of the litter box, right? It's sort of a long story, but I'll tell ya.

Ah, well, it was my birthday yesterday. Sweet sixteen and all that, right? And what with this war thing goin' on and what-not, it was just impossible to plan a good party. People's schedules are just crazy these days.

If you believe that reason, I've got some prime swampland in Arizona to sell ya.

Hey, it wasn't a lie, it was a joke! Anyway, so it's my birthday, I'm sixteen, I'm fightin' a war with no end, and I'm stuck on a mission with a guy who gets me hard quicker than you can spell "Maxwell." And said guy is about as responsive to me as Deathscythe with dead batteries.

I'm sure you've come to the final conclusion, just like I did. Heh - I went and got drunk. It's, unsurprisingly, an easy thing to do for a minor. And I'm not just any minor, I'm Duo Maxwell! Pilot 02! Hell, I'm Minor Extraordinary! I can kill people and get illegal booze all in one day!

So yeah, moving on -

I got myself roaring drunk at some local club in town, then hauled myself back home' to the dorm here at the school we're hiding out in. It was maybe two in the morning. It's about, what, seven now? Ugh - lovely way to wake up, sun in your eyes and a hangover the size of L2. Aspirin sounds perfect right now.

"We don't have any."

"What?!" I barked a little too loudly, making my head pound again.

"I said, we don't have any aspirin," Heero replied from his bed, not even looking at me. If I were one of those types to cry, that's what I'd be doing right now. No aspirin? Oh, the horror. There was no way I could survive with this hangover for the rest of the day.

I walked over all the stuff on the floor of my side of the room and collapsed on my bed, staring at the ceiling. After thinking for a moment, I came up with Plan B. What's Plan B, you may ask? Let me get back to you on that.

I reached down and felt on the floor for my jacket from last night. I'm sure I left something in there that could help me out. My hand came in contact with thick black leather, and I hauled the coat off the floor and onto my chest. After feeling around in the pockets from a while, I came across my prize. A large, almost full bottle of Mexican Tequila. The bartender from last night had taken a shine to me, I think, and slipped this to me as I was walkin' out.

"Ah, well, time for some hair of the dog," I groaned, getting to my feet. I was pretty sure we had a shot glass around here somewhere. Well, not we, but I know I had one. A grunt from across the room made me look in that direction. Heero was looking at me with an unfathomable expression on his face. Of course, most of his expressions are unfathomable, so who was I to judge?

"Duo - what is the hair of the dog?" he finally asked, and I assumed this particular expression was one of puzzlement. I grinned in spite of myself.

"Ah, Heero, it's an old Earth expression. Hair of the dog that bit ya. We're out of aspirin, I've got a hangover from drinkin' last night, the only available cure is more alcohol." At this, I shook the bottle of tequila in my hand. Just then, I stubbed my toe on something made of glass, and, carefully bending over, reached down and picked up my shot glass. "A few of these should do it," I told him, heading over to our mutual desk and setting the bottle and the glass down.

After making myself comfortable in one of the chairs, I poured myself a shot and sat there for a moment. I could still feel Heero's eyes on me. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and turned to him with another grin.

"You want some? Good tequila, man - " I added enticingly, holding up the brimming shot glass. A dark eyebrow arched at me, and I grinned broader, barely managing to control the wince that followed. Damn headache.

He shook his head, "It would interfere with the mission, you should know that, Duo. And we're minors, if we were caught with illegal alcohol, it would draw attention to us." My snort didn't go down well with him, and he glared.

"Heero, man, lighten up. Every other dorm room in this place, guy or girl, is going to have some form of illegal substance stashed in there, I guarantee it. They're kids, man, teenagers, it's what they do!" I waved the open bottle at him. "And besides, we've still got a week here before our mission is set to go. The alcohol will be way out of our systems by then." I swear I could actually see him wavering.

He swung his legs out of bed and stood up. Nice legs, too. Bad Duo, bad, bad, bad, Duo!' "Just one drink, then. I've never had this, what, tequila?" I nodded. "I've never had that before." Well, damn, Heero Yuy was gonna to have a drink with me. He walked over and sat down in the other chair. I lifted the shot glass and emptied it into my mouth, swallowing quickly. Yowzza!

"Whew! I can feel the burn!" I slammed the glass down and filled it up again, pushing it towards him. "Just do it like I did." He gave me what could only be called a dubious look, and from Heero, that's sayin' something. "Come on, just knock it back," I urged after he kept hesitating. Another glare was turned my way, then he lifted the glass and dumped it in his mouth, swallowing quickly.

Oh my god, the look on his face. It was the first real expression I'd seen on him, and it was definitely surprise. His eyes were the size of saucers and I watched as sweat broke out on his face and chest. Sweet Jesus, he looked gorgeous. I had an almost uncontrollable need to lick those beads of sweat away one by one until he was shaking in my arms.

Time for another drink.

"You all right, man? If you need to cough for second, it's okay. I know you don't drink much," I assured him, adding in my mind, Or drink - ever.'

His voice was barely a wheeze as he answered, "I'm fine, it was just surprising. You drink this stuff a lot?" Well cut my braid and call me Wu Fei, Heero was asking me questions that didn't have jack to do with a mission. I poured myself another shot and knocked it back before answering. The effects of the tequila were already takin' away the worst of my hangover and I was feeling like my chipper self again.

"Tequila, whiskey, good ol' beer, name it and I've probably had a glass or two of it. I don't drink often, really, just when I feel the need." Which really wasn't often, just on bad nights like last night, when the world seemed to be upside down and wrong side out. "You want another one?" After a second, he nodded and waited while I filled the glass, then knocked that bitch back like he'd been drinkin' since he was five.

"Nobody can ever accuse you of being a slow learner, Heero my man," I joked lightly, laughing. I bout fell out of my chair when he gave me a slight smile back, practically a grin from him. I tried to blame the heating up of my body on the tequila, but failed miserably. God, I was hot for him. I poured myself a third shot and swallowed it just like the last two, quick.

His eyes, normally cold and distant, seemed to be thawing with the help of the alcohol, and the way he was looking at me - I can't describe it. Very warmly, how about that? I don't know, fuck it. Hell, fuck me. Seriously - like right now. Shut up, brain, or I'll stab you with a q-tip.

Whew - calm down, Duo, or he's gonna to notice the mysterious bulge in your boxers.

Maybe I want him to -

Okay, three shots of this tequila may have done more than get rid of my hangover. I poured Heero another shot and pushed it his way, and he drank it without comment. Ha, so much for just one drink!

I chuckled lowly, feeling a little strung out. Heero had set down the glass and was looking at me warily.

"Duo, are you all right? Maybe we shouldn't drink anymore?" he asked softly, and I wanted to hug him or something. Maybe we?'

"No, I'm okay, just a little lightheaded." I gave him a reassuring smile, something a little off from my normal shit-eating grins. He looked puzzled for a moment, then shrugged. We sat in silence for a while, the tequila warming me slightly. Man, it was like a wet-dream come true, almost. I mean, both of us were half-naked, slightly drunk, and feeling friendlier towards each other than any time before now.

The only thing stopping me from going after him right now was the fact that I bruise easily, and I knew he'd probably slug me if I tried anything.

I was sitting there, thinking this fact over, when he spoke again, breaking the silence.

"Duo, what will happen to us after the War?" he murmured softly, jolting me. I looked up to see him leaned back, staring almost dreamily at the ceiling. Heero didn't strike me as the type to think about after the War, just about the next mission, and the next, and the next.

I realized then that this wasn't the Perfect Soldier talking to me. Whether it was because of the tequila, or something else, the real Heero was speaking now. The teenaged boy, same as me, caught in a War that seemed endless. So I gave him the real Duo, too.

"I don't really know, Heero. It isn't over yet, who knows if any of us will even make it out of the War at all. If I think about after the War, I get scared sometimes. We're just kids, all we've known for a while now is killing, what good are we without anyone to kill?" I tugged my braid out from behind me, where it had been hanging over the back of my chair. Playing with the tip, I watched him.

He leaned forward, close to me, his face slightly flushed and his eyes blazing with something.

"That's right. We may not be here to see the end of the War. Why worry about after when there won't be an after for us?" he whispered, his voice so low I could barely hear it. I closed my eyes to the sound, to the feelings I was feeling. It won't happen, Duo, stop wishing for it.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on mine, the one holding the end of my braid. Another hand came to rest lightly on my right leg, just below the edge of my black cotton boxers. My breath hitched slightly in my chest, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. It would fade away like smoke, I thought. The hand on my hand left, to trace fingers across the necklace hanging from my neck to swing against my bare chest.

My bottom lip trembled as callused pads followed the fine gold chain down to the plain cross pressed against my breast bone. The hand resting on my leg moved slightly, brushing against my skin with the thumb. I was so hard I could feel myself straining against my boxers, rubbing against the cloth and not really helping matters at all. The fingers left my necklace and followed the pattern of scars across my chest, lightly touching and following the line of each one.

And let me tell you, I have a lot. Not just on my chest, either, but covering my whole body. And Heero has even more.

"Heero - " His name slid off my lips like a sigh, and I finally opened my eyes. Warm, bright blue met my own dark violet.

"There might not be a tomorrow. There probably won't be anything after the War. I want something real, right now. Before - " But he stopped short of saying the words. The words I'd known my whole life. Before we die. Death. Me.

"Then make somethin' real, damn it. Before you drive me crazy!" I choked out, trying my best to glare at him, and failing as the hand he was still resting on my leg tightened slightly. The one on my chest slid up to rest on my shoulder as he pushed himself up off the chair and leaned into me.

My eyes almost slid closed, just slits, as he hesitated, then kissed me. A low moan escaped my mouth, and my free hand, the one not holding the end of my braid, slid up his left arm, across his neck, and into his hair. His lips were soft and hesitant, barely touching mine. I used my hand to press him into me, deepening the kiss and almost pulling him into my lap. He tasted of tequila and smelled like machinery. After a few moments of lip action, we broke apart, panting.

"That real enough for ya?" I gasped out, grinning weakly. He gave me his own shaky smile, then let go of other parts of me and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards his bed. Fine with me, you could barely see mine anyway, it was so covered up with random crap. He was watching me walk behind him, and didn't realize when we'd reached his side of the room. He hit the edge of his bed, falling onto the sheets and taking me with him.

I admit, I let out somethin' pretty close to a squawk. But then I laughed, so it was okay. His hands were on me, then, and it became very hard to think at all. Fingers traced the scars on my chest again, and the ones on my arms and shoulders. His mouth followed the fingers, and I writhed beneath the weight of his body, feeling his tongue leaving wet trails everywhere. My own hands were busy sliding over every inch of skin I could reach, feeling, touching, taking in everything.

The sounds he made - who knew the Perfect Soldier would moan like someone doin' a porno flick? Not that I watch porno. I pulled away from the kiss and licked a line up his jaw until I reached his ear. Taking the soft lobe in my mouth, I nipped and sucked gently, his breath hot against the skin of my neck and shoulder. My hands swept up the curve of his back, feeling smooth skin and rough scars. We were the same, young bodies touched by war.

Sweat slicked our skin where we touched, the whole scene was hot and wet and damn good.

But I wanted more. And the way he was looking at me, I knew he did, too.

"Let me up," I whispered, releasing the prize I held as he reluctantly pulled away from me. Kissing his cheek, I left him laying on his side, panting, as I scrambled to my side of the room and dug around in the piles of stuff thrown everywhere. I nearly crowed as I came up with a bottle of nondescript gel, which I used on my hair sometimes, at its frizziest. It was mostly water, but it would be enough for lube. Now, the question of who would be bottom. "Heero?" He looked at me, eyes barely slits. "Who's top?"

Blinking, he took the question in. I didn't know what his experience amounted to, and I didn't care, but he must have known what I was talking about.

"Flip for it?" he suggested quietly, grabbing a quarter from off of his nightstand. I laughed lowly and nodded. He flicked the silver piece up into the air, and grabbed it again on the way down. The sound of him slapping the metal against the back of his hand was loud in the dark, musty room.

"Heads I'm top, tails you are," I murmured, sliding back into bed with him, bottle clutched in my hand. He lifted the top hand away to show tails, his teeth flashing white as he smiled. Ah, well, I'd get him next time. Because I knew there would be a next time, and many more after that. Once I'd had him with me, I wasn't gonna let him have anyone else. If one of us died in this War, or after, then we'd see about different partners.

Whether it was the tequila controlling us, or setting us free, or what, this little thing wasn't a one-night-stand, or one morning, for me. And once the alcohol was gone from my system and his, I'd let him know that in no uncertain terms.

Afterwards, as we were lay there panting, I felt his lips move as he murmured something against my chest.

"What?"

"Happy birthday," he repeated, turning his head to rest his chin on my chest, looking up at me. I couldn't help it, I laughed. Loud and long, the muscles I'd used still twitching. He did the only thing he could to shut me up, lifting himself up and covering my mouth with his.

We kissed gently, like when he'd first kissed me by the desk. Finally, after an endless time, he broke away. Slowly pulling away from me, he turned over with a sigh to lay on his back next to me, on the right side. We just laid there, breathing together, relaxing.

"So where did that expression come from?" he asked softly, his voice drowsy.

"What expression?"

"Hair of the dog that bit you," he clarified, turning on his side to look at me. I rolled over onto my right side to stare at him.

"I don't have a fucking clue, Heero, it's just an expression," I replied, grinning. I didn't expect the pillow that smacked into my face. I returned fire readily, though, and I got to hear him laugh for the first time. A real laugh, not that scary, evil cackle thing he does when he's flying in Wing Zero.

We pulled on our boxers and stumbled down the hall to the showers, tequila still making us slightly goofy. I could only thank whatever god was watching over us that it was Saturday and we were the only ones up at nine or whatever time it was.

I was finished first, not bothering to take my braid out and wash it. That could come later tonight, or tomorrow morning. Getting back to the room, I cleared my bed off and made it, waiting for him to come in the door and then pulling him to it with me. We curled up under the sheets together, arms around each other in a comfortable way.

I didn't expect it to be this way.

"What did you expect?" he asked, tugging on my braid gently. Guess I'd said that out loud.

"I never expected anything at all," I murmured softly, burying my nose against his neck.

"I told Trowa to follow his emotions, but I couldn't seem to do the same," he whispered, a hand trailing up my spine to rest at the nape of my neck. "I needed something to, um?"

"Lower your inhibitions?" I provided, snickering. I gave in to temptation and licked the skin of his neck. He shivered against me.

"H-hai - I mean, yes," he admitted, "Hair of the dog, alcohol, did the trick. I seemed to gain a lot of courage." I nodded, understanding. I, too, had gained some courage from the amber bottle, but I wouldn't need it again, now that I'd had him. We were silent for a while, the sheets pulled up over our heads, just holding each other.

"So do I have to get you drunk every time I want you?" I finally asked, grinning in the shadow. A groan and a kiss were my only answers, but I saw that as a good thing.

"Flip ya for it?"


End file.
